HANGING AS A DETERENT

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1930, Page 6

HANGING AS A DETERENT

EVIDENCE OF CHAPLAINS'

ABOLITION OF PENALTY URGED. ANGLICAN MISSIONER’S MOTION, (By Wire —Special to News.) Auckland, Last Night. In reviewing the history of capital punishment at the Anglican Synod the Rev. Jasper Calder, city missioner, said that for the 30 years ending in 1925 no fewer than 22 persons were hanged whose ages ranged from 18 to 20 ycais. He harked back to the early part oi the nineteenth century, when a Bill was before the House of Lords proposing that capital punishment should be abolished for offences against property. “That Bill was defeated by 31 votes to 11,” said Mr. Calder, “and it is astounding to recall that amongst those - who voted in favour of capital punishment for minor crimes there Were an archbishop and six bishops. “In 1833 a boy of nine years of age was sentenced to death for stealing paint valued at 2d, but mercifully the . sentence was not carried out. In these days an offender would scarcely find himself in a juvenile court for such a triviality.” The main argument used against the abolition of the death sentence was that it acted as a deterrent, but that was foolish. Since the recent hanging in Auckland there had been four murders in' New Zealand. It did not seem that the death sentence had had any influence. In the days of public executions criminals were ,3iot deterred, even when they were hanged for crimes less than murder. The real criminologists of the world were the chaplains and court missioners, who heard confessions and talked by the hour with prisoners. • One chaplain reported In England that J he had prepared 167 men for the death sentence, and of these all- but six had actually witnessed public hangings. / That did not show that hanging was a deterrent. A stroim argument for, the abolition of capital 0 punishment was the fact that juries were human and therefore fallible. Referring to alternatives, Mr. Calder advocated long terms,of imprisonment. Criminologists acknowledged that life sentence men imprisoned fdr murder were usually the best behaved. He assured the synod that his opinions were based on practical work amongst prisoners spread over a period of nearly a quarter of a century. He moved: “That in the opinion of this synod the abolition of capital punishment is de sirable.” / , The discussion was adjourned.